


Five Ways Fraser Is Losing His Edge

by mlyn



Category: due South
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-04
Updated: 2008-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 08:11:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlyn/pseuds/mlyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray helps Fraser realize he's human, and Mountie standards can be adjusted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Ways Fraser Is Losing His Edge

I. Getting Up Late

It started when Fraser caught the flu and could not get out of bed for three days. He came down with chills on a Tuesday evening, and spent the rest of his workweek huddled under the blankets of his bed, alternately shivering and sweating, shifting restlessly, moaning when the discomfort was too great. Ray took sick leave of his own to be nurse to him, feeding him Tylenol and chicken soup, helping him change his long underwear when they were too sweat-soaked to be comfortable, and reading to him when Fraser couldn't sleep.

On Saturday Fraser started to feel more human. He got up and took a bath, laid out his clothes, and began to shave. But by the time he finished, he could hardly hold the razor up.

"Back to bed with you," Ray said, standing in the hallway and watching Fraser brace his hands on the bathroom counter to recuperate. "You don't bounce back that fast, Fraser."

Fearing a relapse, Fraser obeyed. He reclaimed his spot next to Ray on the narrow bed, adjusting the pillow, privately hating to be back in the bed that had been his prison for so long.

He rested briefly and then went about his day of light activities. He oiled his Sam Browne and ironed his Stetson, then took Diefenbaker to what Ray called a "dog park," and there Fraser let Diefenbaker pretend that he was the alpha of the pack of dogs playing there.

Sunday morning Fraser wallowed in bed until nine a.m., and awoke curled around Ray and feeling completely rested. And when Ray rolled over and met him with a long, lazy kiss, Fraser suddenly realized why so many people preferred sleeping in on the weekend.

* * *

II. Special-Issue Soap

Perhaps it was the greater degree of air pollution in Chicago, or the time Fraser spent inside air-conditioned buildings, but as he aged, his skin became more sensitive. As he approached his thirty-sixth birthday, the standard-issue soap took to aggravating the problem, causing rashes to break out where his collar touched his throat and where the band of his Stetson rested. After a few weeks of Ray gingerly touching the areas and offering use of his moisturizer, Fraser filled out the proper form at the Consulate and submitted it to Inspector Thatcher, his face burning with embarrassment.

* * *

III. Not Walking to Work

As Fraser frequently commented to Diefenbaker, neither of them was young anymore. He had acquired a variety of scars from his years of service, and some of them had lasting effects. For instance, the most recent stab wound in his leg, delivered by Harold Geiger, ached often in cold weather, and made walking an uncomfortable chore. When the new year began with a fierce cold snap, he promised himself he would continue to walk to work, but by late February, the toll it took on his personal health became too great. He would arrive at work surly and out of sorts from pain, and his leg would give out occasionally, and he would have to apply a hot compress and take willow-bark tea to feel better. So on the days when the wind chill brought the temperature to subzero, he took the elevated train or caught a ride with Ray. Ray's impatience and anger with traffic frequently rubbed off on Fraser, but he always made sure to kiss Ray goodbye before leaving the car. After thinking so much on his parents' relationship, Fraser could see the value of the practice of not ending a conversation angry.

* * *

IV. Buying a New Television Set

Fraser's most extravagant purchase in recent years was a new television. He surprised Ray with it on one of their date nights, a June evening on which their plans for the summer night were ruined by rain. Ray came into the apartment on Racine bearing a pasta salad and some Italian dessert, and Fraser turned on a film noir mystery.

"I thought we could spend some time appreciating the artistic merits of popular film, Ray. I'm sure we will discover many additional things in common if we explore our mutual interests in cinema." Fraser held his hands behind his back in parade rest.

The look of surprise and pleasure on Ray's face was well worth the cost of the television set. They spent the rest of the evening over a bowl of popcorn, discussing Sam Spade's methods.

* * *

V. Letting the Movers Move the New Bed

In September Ray revealed his relationship with Fraser to their friends and family. In October Fraser moved in with Ray, and Ray purchased a new mattress and boxspring set for himself. He explained to Fraser that his bed was old and had lost its support, and he wouldn't allow Fraser to sleep on it with Fraser's growing list of aches. Fraser was pleased that he didn't have to make the request himself. In a way it affirmed that his intimacy with Ray was the right choice, because Ray knew him so well and thought of him so dearly as to anticipate his needs.

The symbolism of the bed was thus a balm against the sting of Ma Vecchio's rejection of their relationship. Ray assured Fraser that she would "come around," particularly because she had always adored Fraser, but that she needed time to adjust to the idea of her son being gay and living with another man under the same roof. Ray also reminded her that the roof was in his name, an argument that always made Fraser deeply uncomfortable for creating such a schism in the household.

Fraser was uncomfortable with the prospect of moving in, but it did make the most sense, financially and ecologically, to combine their households. Furthermore Ray argued that neither of them had anything to be ashamed of, and should stand up for themselves and their relationship. So Fraser had no good reason to refuse Ray, and the bed arrived.

That October afternoon, Fraser went out to the truck to take delivery, and found two strapping fellows muscling the box spring down the ramp to the sidewalk. "Thank you, gentlemen, I can take it from here," he called cheerfully.

Ray was behind him on the stoop. "Inside, fellas." When Fraser turned to look at him, Ray added, "You don't want to take their job from them, do you, Benny?"

"Well, no, Ray, but we are perfectly capable of moving these ourselves, and—" Fraser stepped out of the way as the two men carried the box spring into the entranceway.

"I don't want you throwing your back out getting those things up the damn staircase. Then you wouldn't be able to work, would you?"

"That is a valid point, Ray, but—"

"They're halfway done already, see?" Ray pointed to the men. They were well up the staircase without any difficulty.

Fraser nodded and fell silent. Within five minutes both pieces were delivered to the master bedroom upstairs, Ray had tipped the gentlemen, and they were off.

Later that afternoon Fraser overheard Ma Vecchio in the kitchen, speaking on the phone with Ray's sister Maria. He made every effort not to eavesdrop, but Ma was perfectly aware that Fraser was in the parlor reading, and it seemed that she was purposely speaking loudly so that Fraser would hear. Additionally, she wasn't speaking in Italian, as she usually did when conversing with the younger generation.

Fraser listened for a few minutes to Ma Vecchio's comments. She opined on Ray's wastefulness in replacing a perfectly good mattress set, and how Ray had never been so wasteful before taking the Canadian into the house, but that she should expect nothing better from a Godless pervert like the man who had taken her Raimundo. Fraser was just about to close his book and go into the kitchen to tell Ma Vecchio that he did believe in God, in his own way, and honored God by caring for God's land and creatures and people in the best ways he knew how, and that this included loving Ray, but when he turned to leave the parlor he saw Ray standing there.

"We're getting out of here," Ray said, and the stricken expression on his face brooked no argument.

Fraser wasn't sure if Ray meant leaving the house for the afternoon or moving out entirely, but either way, they drove off in the Riviera with Diefenbaker in the backseat. Fraser thought Ray would drive to a movie theater or a sporting event or some other familiar place, but instead Ray drove from the city, into increasingly thin suburbs, until they were on long stretches of county highway with farmhouses every few kilometers.

Finally Ray pulled off the road at a gas station that had gone out of business. He drove around to the back of the building and parked, turning off the engine. Then he faced Fraser.

"C'mere," he said simply.

"Yes Ray," Fraser said, and leaned across the seat.

Ray met him with a fierce kiss, lifting a hand to his shoulder and holding him firmly. Fraser rested a hand on Ray's waist, reminding himself that this had never felt perverted before, and that Ray needed comfort more than anything.

But Ray pushed Fraser back against the car door, then moved his hand to Fraser's waistband. He quickly opened Fraser's fly, then bent his head.

Fraser wasn't erect when Ray took Fraser's penis into his mouth, but it didn't take long for him to become hard. Ray sucked gently, moving his tongue as softly and slowly as Fraser had ever felt. The fierceness of the previous few minutes was gone, and in its place were gentleness and careful attention. Ray touched him hesitantly, curling his fingers around Fraser's shaft as though holding a silk garment, his other hand rubbing Fraser's thigh to encourage the muscles to relax. The inside of his mouth was soothing yet enticing, the palm of his hand hot against Fraser's flesh. He stroked Ray's head and back, moving his hips in small motions so as not to choke Ray, and sighed as the pleasure mounted.

The sun coming through the window became too bright for him. Fraser closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the window, releasing Ray's shoulder to press a fist against the seat. With every gentle stroke of his fingers on Fraser's shaft, Ray brought his mouth down with greater suction and swirled his tongue around the cockhead. It felt magnificent; Ray knew exactly how Fraser enjoyed this, and every motion was perfect. The privacy and intimacy of their location was wonderful, too. Fraser felt like they had escaped the city and all their cares, fled to the countryside as Fraser longed to do nearly every day, and here Ray was, pleasuring Fraser in every way he knew how. But it excited Fraser the most that Ray was enjoying this so much, as he enthusiastically sucked and licked and massaged, even moaning to himself on occasion.

Soon Fraser's orgasm was imminent. He moved his other hand from Ray's arm, trying not to grab at him, and clutched at the seatback instead. "Ray. Ray. _Ray!_ "

Ray swallowed his emissions and sat up. Fraser sat there panting for a moment, unable to move his hands to tidy his clothing, or even to open his eyes. He wanted to drink in the sun on his face and the sensations coursing through his body, and for the moment to last forever.

The sounds of the car's engine and Diefenbaker whining both stirred him from his lassitude, and he opened his eyes to see Ray put his hands on the steering wheel. Fraser wet his dry lips and cleared his throat. "Ray, may I reciprocate?"

"Maybe later, Benny. You can christen our new bed tonight." As Fraser tucked himself back into his boxer shorts, Ray smiled and pulled the car back onto the highway.


End file.
